My Life As A Doll 2002 draws us into a world of make-believe where identity is malleable. Presented with ten similar yet contradictory likenesses of the artist, we may be forgiven for asking, ‘Will the real Adrienne Doig please step forward?’ In this sense, the artwork nods to the elusive images of American photographer Cindy Sherman. As evinced in the adjacent artworks, Sherman interrogates the ways in which persona is constructed and received through her scrutiny of stereotypes and the self-image.

Doig’s self-portrait prompts numerous queries, including questions of authorship. The artwork, which marks one of the artist’s earliest forays into the genre that has become her hallmark, was in fact made by ten dollmakers working to Doig’s specifications. She commissioned the dolls in 2001 after seeing an exhibition of miniatures in Birmingham, and subsequently sent photographs of herself in various curated outfits to artisans around the world.